Little Voice on the Prairie

Jesse Moss, San Francisco, CA 10/26/14

I was delighted that Jesse Moss’ beautiful documentary, THE OVERNIGHTERS, had become part of the PBS series, POV. Finally a wider audience would be able to see his penetrating look at Christian principles in both theory and in practice. In it, Pastor Jay Reinke, following those principles, offers shelter to the desperate job-seekers who have arrived in Williston, his small North Dakota town looking for work in the oil fields there. His act of charity and compassion provoked outrage among his congregants, his neighbors, and the town itself. Moss’ doc is an often troubling examination of the inherent distrust of outsiders, the quest for redemption, and the difference one voice can, and can’t, make in such circumstances.

I was even more delighted that the fine folks at Prairie Public Radio broadcast part of my interview with Moss on its Main Street program in conjunction with the PBS broadcast. You can listen to that show here (my interview is 33 minutes in). You can find out when THE OVERNIGHTERS will be shown on your local PBS station here. And, finally, my full interview can be heard here.